The Maidens

**An audiobook ARC of this book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The Maidens, especially the last 40 minutes or so, was the wildest rollercoaster of a book I've read in years. I am absolutely stunned. The book takes a but to warm up but it was totally worth it. I’m shocked and reeling from the twist, just like Mariana. That’s the highest praise I can possibly give a mystery book, as I love when I’ve got no idea what the twist really is and that happens so rarely. A good mystery derives value not only from, well the mystery of it all, but also from the TENSION and this book has got it! There’s an active serial killer on the loose and everyone is in danger. Can Mariana find her proof to throw Edward Fosca behind bars before her niece becomes the next victim?!? Louise Brealey and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith are amazing dual narrators who are sure to suck you into the story.

I really can’t say too much without spoiling the entire book, so unfortunately this review will be pretty short. Non-plot-wise, I’ve been told that characters from Michaelides’s previous book, The Silent Patient, made an appearance in this one. That must be a fun treat for fans! As someone who didn’t read The Silent Patient did did some research myself to figure out who it was and how they impacted this story. I just wanted to reassure others that the cameo is brief and not dependent on you having to know that character’s whole backstory. It was a tasteful cameo and you can 100% read The Maidens as a stand-alone book!

If Dark Academia is up your alley, I’d definitely recommend picking up The Maidens ASAP. Full Disclosure: I normally read and review Young Adult books and The Maidens is Adult Fiction. CW’s for the book: Present Day Gore and Manipulation; Flashbacks of Abuse, Child Abuse, and Animal Cruelty.

There is nothing -NOTHING- I like better than a mystery set on a college campus. Then throw in a Secret Society?? SOLD. "The Maidens," written by Alex Michaelides, could have been titled, "Hey, Abbey! Come Read This Book...You're Gonna Love It!"

That title might be a touch too long and lacking in commercial appeal, but, all that say...it's my jam.

"The Maidens" is set on the Cambridge campus, and centers around Greek mythology, Mariana (our fearless and broken protagonist), her niece, Zoe (student at said troubled university), and the overly charming & sketchy professor, Edward Fosca. Particular students are being brutally stabbed to death in the woods and they are all in the *cough* Girl Only *cough* secret society led by the handsome and mysteries Fosca.

I am usually quick to solve a mystery story. I can pick out the "bad guy" and even give his reasons for murder most of the time. And I did again... ... ...but I did NOT see the twist coming. Just...not even a little. Thinking back on some key passages, I feel like Michaelides was dropping a few light clues to mislead his audience - that I totally bought hook, line, & sinker!

Fantastic Read! Only way I could have loved it more was if I could have read it for the first time on a rainy October day. But, I mean, you can only ask so much of a book. *wink*

A HUGE Thank You to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this amazing audiobook. 5 Stars!

I wish I could love this book but I just couldn’t. There were to many story lines that just ended. I thought I could predict who the murder was and was not correct which I love that. However, I don’t understand what the point was of having a male storyline being told if it led no where other than to distract the reader and lead us in another direction. I’m also still confused who’s story this male characters was. I could have very missed that. What was the point of Henry… of Fred? It over all felt like there were many loose ends and once it was finished I just felt disappointed. I do love how he tied in the grove and the silent patient character.

SPOILERS AHEAD, STOP NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT! 3.5/5 ⭐ Maybe I'm not in the mood for a psychological thriller? There was a LOT going on in this book. Mariana gets a phone call from her niece Zoe, Zoe's friend has been murdered. Oh no! She plans to go the next day to check on Zoe. When she arrives, she can tell Zoe is hiding something from her, but what? (Oh man, this was a big reveal at the end that just flopped for me.) Ok, so you have Mariana and her deceased husband Sebastian. Then you have someone that is writing super creepy diary-like entries throughout the book. Then there is Fred, who Mariana meets on the train. He says he is psychic and just has a feeling about her. Then Henry, a patient of Mariana's that is stalking her. Then we have Professor Fosca, a super creepy charismatic American that is obviously sleeping with students and being really weird. It was a lot but not enough. Pick a few pivotal characters and go all in. I wanted to feel invested but people kept dying and I was like, oh well, whatever. 🤷 Mariana is a nutcase and for whatever reason, thinks she can solve this murder with poor sleuthing. She definitely solved some major misconduct between a professor and his students, but she wasn't even worried about that. "Lines were blurred", her own description of her college days .. . Overall, it had potential. I would have loved to have more of the creepy diary, more of Fosca and the maidens and skip Fred and Henry altogether. Skip the college maid. They don't lead anywhere and we have enough creepy subterfuge without them. There were too many winding roads that led nowhere and unfortunately left the largest plot roads with big holes in them. I'm still trying to figure out the ending and what the heck happened with Theo, another character that literally wastes pages of the book. Who cares about these random characters that we get weird details about??

VERY slow at first. Took me way longer to get into than Alex’s other book, The Silent Patient, but it did end up being pretty good!